Wesley Willis: Wesley Willis is a Chicago legend for good reason: His massive frame was matched only by the joy he…

Ugly Casanova: Ugly Casanova is a solo project from Isaac Brock of Modest Mouse who, if I remember correctly,…

Talking Heads: I’m not as huge a Talking Heads fan as I probably should be, though I do have that big, complete box…

Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin: The name is memorable (though pretty awful), but this Missouri band’s music…

S.: Jenn Champion—who recently changed her longtime stage name from Jenn Ghetto, citing the potential offensiveness…

Q And Not U: This D.C. band came in at the perfect time to grab the torch from Fugazi—Dischord even released their…

Pearl Jam: As a Kurt Cobain acolyte, 17-year-old me was sort of automatically anti-Pearl Jam. They were pretenders:…

Kumail Nanjiani: Remember when I said I was going to keep most of my stand-up? I lied. This package is thick, and…

Tom Mabe: This is a prank call disc in which the tables are turned—Tom Mabe keeps telemarketers on the phone and…

Kaiser Chiefs: This British band has a ton of great songs that I never really think to listen to but would be happy…

Kristin Hersh: The first song on Kristin Hersh’s first solo album is one of my favorite tracks ever, and yet I have…

Galaxie 500: I came to Galaxie 500 via Luna, the band started by Dean Wareham after the semi-legendary Galaxie broke…

Eazy-E: I’m slightly tempted to keep the mostly subpar It’s On (Dr. Dre) 187um Killa for its ridiculous dis track…

Evan Dando: Evan Dando is like the poster child for squandered talent. Is that too harsh? Maybe he’s a test case for…

The Cars: As you may have noticed, I’m something of a completist, to a fault. If I love a band, I generally have…

Black Francis/Frank Black: At the height of Pixies reunion mania in 2004, Frank Black—by then back to Black…

Badly Drawn Boy: I like Badly Drawn Boy, but not five CDs’ worth, so I’m keeping just the classic debut The Hour Of…

Lily Allen: My favorite records and bands, as you’ll learn, can be pretty depressing—which is sort of the opposite…

Eight or nine years ago, I decided to limit the number of CDs I owned to 2,000. The decision wasn’t arbitrary—I had…